Riverside to use state grant to promote traffic safety

The Riverside Police Department has received a $505,000 state grant that will pay for a year-long traffic safety enforcement and public awareness program.

Funds from the California Office of Traffic Safety will help educate the public on safe driving habits and discourage people from violating traffic laws, according to a statement on the city’s website.

The grant will be used in the 2019 federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1 and ends next Sept. 30. Programs will include DUI checkpoints, education forums, extra patrols at some of the city’s busiest intersections and checkpoints for seat belt and child safety compliance.

In 2016, more than 3,600 people were killed in traffic accidents statewide, a year-over-year increase of seven percent, according to the National Traffic Safety Administration.